Will Trump's border wall suffer the same outcome as GOP health-care reform?, Middle East banks can fight terrorism, Ending rape culture through sex ed, Social media companies must cooperate in investigations, Ganges River ruling may not be a game changer

A roundup of global commentary for the April 10, 2017, weekly magazine.

A youth looks at a new, taller fence being built along the US-Mexico border in the Anapra neighborhood of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, across the border from Sunland Park, New Mexico, on March 29, 2017.

Rodrigo Abd/AP/File

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Monitor editors

April 8, 2017

The News / Mexico City

Will Trump's border wall suffer the same outcome as GOP health-care reform?

"After the repealing of the Affordable Care Act 'exploded' right in U.S. President Donald Trump’s face ... the immediate question the healthcare failure aroused in Mexico was: when will the projected border wall’s plan blow up?" writes Ricardo Castillo. "The answer lies in an old mystical Sufi adage that says when you have an enemy, sit back and wait until he passes, in a coffin.... Still you hear some of Trump’s voters shouting ‘build that wall’ but there are other reasons why this forever-unrealistic venture will continue to crumble.... [F]or the first time in these two months, President Trump had to swallow his abundant pride and admit the Obamacare repeal defeat.... Among other things, the border wall is next!"

Daily News Egypt / Giza, Egypt

Middle East banks can help fight terrorism

"In the war against terrorism, it’s not just government agencies and military personnel who are on the front lines," writes Mohamed Elbanna. "Bankers can also play an important role in fighting terrorism ... because terrorism needs money to survive and thrive. Although terrorists are increasingly using alternative financial methods, the banking system continues to be the most reliable and efficient way to move funds internationally. Vigilant banks can hit terrorists where it hurts by preventing them from using the financial system to fund their operations.... While banks in the Middle East have made great strides in anti-terrorism efforts, there is much further to go. Banks in the region can make a real difference by moving beyond mere compliance and instituting systems and processes that actively fight terrorism."

The New Zealand Herald / Auckland, New Zealand

Ending 'rape culture' through sex education

"Despite repeated calls for such issues [of sexual assault] to be part of a compulsory sex education curriculum, the Education Minister does not see the need to intervene...," states an editorial. "Yet the events of recent weeks – and in fact years – show, it is time that attitude changed. Not least of all because our young people are demanding it.... [In March], hundreds of outraged teens marched on Parliament to protest against rape culture in the aftermath of deplorable social media comments from Wellington College students.... [T]he teens we spoke to ... say rape culture is real. And it is not being talked about. That must change. We owe it to our young people."

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The Telegraph / London

Social media companies must cooperate in serious criminal investigations

"[I]nternet media companies, including Google and Facebook ... are under growing pressure to accept their responsibilities as purveyors of violent imagery and also as a means of contact between criminals and terrorists," states an editorial. "There is clearly a balance to be struck here. Those who assert that the state should always have access to anything they want and nothing should be hidden behind encrypted walls need to explain how that approach is consistent with the freedoms they wish to preserve. On the other hand, when a serious crime has been committed it is unconscionable for those who could help to solve it or expose the motives of the perpetrator to decline to assist the authorities."

The Hindu / Chennai, India

Ganges River ruling may not be a game changer

"In a recent judgment, the Uttarakhand High Court declared the rivers Yamuna and Ganga as legal or juridical persons, enjoying all the rights, duties and liabilities of a living person...," writes Shibani Ghosh. "[T]he High Court’s declaration is terse, and raises several questions.... The judgment does not take away existing statutory and constitutional rights and duties of citizens and government agencies to counter the pollution and degradation of these rivers. What it does do is to identify three officers who will be the first-line defenders for the rivers. Perhaps they will not be able to pass the (institutional) buck any more. But is that game-changing? Sadly, no."